Following Diego Costa’s departure, Atletico Madrid were forced to head into the transfer market to find a potential replacement and have managed to do so as they are closing in on signing Lyon’s Moussa Dembele.
Los Rojiblancos had also placed Real Sociedad forward Willian Jose on their radar, but they finally decided to move for the Frenchman.
As MARCA reported on Thursday, Dembele has been among the favourites to replace Costa, with the 24-year-old striker likely to join Atletico on loan.
No compulsory purchase option will be included in the deal between the two parties and his future will depend on his performances until June.
Dembele, who is currently sidelined through a broken arm, has struggled this season at Lyon for whom he produced some excellent displays in the 2019/20 campaign when he scored 16 goals in Ligue 1.
He also netted twice in the Champions League quarter-final against Manchester City to help Lyon knock out the Sky Blues and progress to the 2019/20 semi-final.
The deal between Lyon and Atletico Madrid has yet to be sealed but everything indicates that a total agreement could be reached soon.
If confirmed, Atleti will have added a striker with different virtues to those of Luis Suarez to their squad.
Dembele was expected to recover around mid-February, yet Los Rojiblancos believe that he can return to action in a matter of just a few weeks.
The Frenchman will try his luck abroad again following his spells at Fulham and Celtic, where he began to show glimpses of his talent.
